University and careers. Show me the data!
Last week we looked at the connection between going to university and getting a good job. We saw the hard reality that study alone will almost certainly not get you your dream job, but that university can be a great place to gain the knowledge, skills, experience and contacts to prepare you for your life and career ahead.
This week, we put that all to the test, by looking at some hard data on graduates, jobs and careers. In the real world of employment and salaries, is going to university worth it?
We’ll look at the UK government’s own graduate labour market statistics, and at the outcomes of a recent graduate and business leader survey by Universities UK.
Before I get into the data, though, a few words of caution:
Data is pretty easy to manipulate. And by focusing on specific parts of any data set, it is pretty straightforward for anyone to tell the story they want to tell.
Averages are only averages. For every average figure, remember that for half the people, the figure will be higher, while for the other half, the figure will be lower. So, averages don’t say anything specific about you and your circumstances.
I will do my best to present the data straight. But you know perfectly well that I write pretty much exclusively about university and I believe in education as a power for good. All my bias will be towards university being a good thing. You need to take this into account as you read.
So here goes…
Graduate employment data
Official government data from 2022 compares the employment of non-graduates (people without a degree), graduates (people with a Bachelor’s degree), and postgraduates (people with a Master’s degree or higher).
Non-graduate employment rate: 69.6%
Graduate employment rate: 87.3%
Post-graduate employment rate: 89.3%
The data is clear. Graduates are more likely to be employed (and less likely to be unemployed) than non-graduates. So going to university is good for getting you a job! A post-graduate degree then gives you a small further advantage.
Interestingly, if you look more closely at the data, you can see that when the jobs economy went through a challenging cycle (such as in 2010, 2011 and now), the gap between non-graduate and graduate employment widened.
Having a degree gives some protection when economic times are tough.
Graduates in skilled work
Lots of people go to university because they want to do skilled work. Official data looks at the type of work being done, defining some types of work as high-skilled, and some as medium- or low-skilled. Below are the percentages of each group undertaking high-skilled work. Note that “high-skilled” does not necessarily mean high paid.
Non-graduate high-skilled employment rate: 23.6%
Graduate high-skilled employment rate: 66.3%
Post-graduate high-skilled employment rate: 78.3%
It is clear that the likelihood of doing high-skilled work massively increases if you have a degree, and even more so if you have a post-graduate degree. But with over a third of graduates doing medium- or low-skilled work, having a degree clearly gives no guarantee of high skilled work, just a likelihood.
Average salaries
Official data shows the average salaries for each group. Note these are average salaries for the whole working age population, not just new or recent graduates.
Non-graduate salary: £27,000
Graduate salary: £38,500
Post-graduate salary: £45,000
There is a clear premium for graduates (and more so for post-graduates).
And looking more closely at the data, as with employment, the premium for having a degree increases when the economy is at its weakest, as non-graduates are most vulnerable to salary freezes and lay-offs.
The average premium for having a first degree is £11,500 per year, or 42.5%. Over a normal 40 year working lifetime, that’s £460,000 in today’s money (though obviously if you don’t go to university, you’ll be able to work for an extra three or four years, and make some of that back!)
What graduates say
The Universities UK survey asked graduates whether they credit university with helping them with their professional skills development and ultimately with their career. The headlines are as follows.
Professional skills
79% of graduates say going to university enabled them to build skills that have proved professionally valuable.
76% of UK graduates say going to university helped to build their self-confidence.
67% believe that going to university enabled them to build vital transferable skills that help them in their career.
Is that a resounding endorsement of skills development at university? I’m not so sure. Yes, the large majority of people gained from their time at university, but nearly a third effectively say that university did not enable them to build vital transferable skills. That should be a bit of a wake-up call, both to universities, and to you. You need to do more than just a degree to build the skills that you will need for your future.
Getting a job
78% of UK graduates credit going to university with enabling them to find the job they wanted.
73% of graduates say they found their job in under a year and, on average, it takes UK graduates 12 months to find a job that reflects their graduate career ambitions.
28% of UK graduates first gained employment through a direct connection to their university or degree course.
Again, a clear benefit for the large majority, but the final bullet point should be taken as a slight caution. Most students do not get their first jobs directly through their university or from a direct connection with their degree course.
What business leaders say
Business leaders were also asked about their perceptions of the benefits of university for skills and careers development.
97% of business leaders revealed that graduates reach managerial positions faster as a result of going to university.
85% of business leaders would expect to see graduate employees earn more than non-graduates after just three years.
73% of business leaders surveyed believe that going to university introduces graduates to peers who can help them build their careers.
71% of business leaders believe that going to university enables graduates to build vital transferable skills.
This is a pretty solid endorsement of university as a way to enhance your career, though interestingly nearly a third of business leaders also spotted that gap in the building of transferable skills at university.
In summary
Going to university clearly increases the likelihood of being in employment and reduces the likelihood of being unemployed.
Graduates are more likely to be doing high-skilled work AND more likely to be earning more.
The current average graduate job salary premium is £11,500 per year for those with a first degree.
Graduates credit their time at university with building professional skills, confidence and transferable skills, though there is a significant minority who felt the benefits to their transferable skills fell short.
Graduates also credit their time at university with helping them find their first job and with finding the job they wanted, but not necessarily directly through their university or their course.
Business leaders also credit universities with building skills and connections, but a significant minority share the graduates' concerns over transferable skills development.
Business leaders also believe that graduates will progress in their careers faster, and will earn more faster, than non graduates.
What next?
I hope this helps put the benefits of going to university nice and clearly in black and white. But of course, if you are a regular reader, you’ll know that I rarely consider life to be a case of black and white, and it is arguable that this data will have little bearing on your experience of university, and on your career and your future.
For a more balanced take on how university can help you prepare for your future, please have a look at last week’s article:
